VLADIMIR PUTIN: Of course, not. On the contrary I am even glad, to some extent, because the events have shown how risky and insecure investments in Western financial institutions can be. By the way, our tax regime in that context is also more favourable than yours. The income tax rate for natural persons in Russia is only 13 percent. What about Germany? How much do you pay?

JÖRG SCHÖNENBORN: It would be great if we paid only 13 percent. Of course, it would be great. Fight against tax increases is a hot topic during the election campaign.

Russia has considerable Western investment and cooperation in its energy market.

The country has a healthy budget surplus and is investing for the future on things that are necessary.

Of course with Putin’s upcoming visit to Germany, naturally there are more opportunities for mutual trade and Germany is already the largest partner in the North Stream Gas Pipeline delivering Russian gas to consumers in Germany.

If Europe moved from austerity to pro-growth policies, it would have a brighter future.

Nationalized oil and gas puts them in the company of nearly every other nation on earth. The USA is a rarity in that individuals can own mineral rights to oil and gas on their land.

Even in England, all oil, gas, coal, gold, etc belong to the crown. Nobody may extract without a government grant. The right to mine does not exist.

Most complaining about Russian oil and gas policy is actually the EU stamping their feet, that they were unable to solidify control of it, and use it they way Europe has always used colonial regions.
The EU is very bitter that they must simply be a customer of a foreign exporter. It was more fun to fantasize about owning it all.

8
posted on 04/05/2013 10:07:59 PM PDT
by DesertRhino
(I was standing with a rifle, waiting for soviet paratroopers, but communists just ran for office.)

Then you’ll really love when they start only accepting payment in a gold backed trade currency, rather than in Euros or Dollar funny money which can have it’s value stolen away through inflation.

There’s nothing wrong about looking after your own national interests first. And there is nothing automatically holy about the engine of your economy being owned by foreigners hostile to your national interests either.

13
posted on 04/05/2013 10:16:37 PM PDT
by DesertRhino
(I was standing with a rifle, waiting for soviet paratroopers, but communists just ran for office.)

“Youre never going to be able to buy a majority. And state ownership is still state ownership.”

Airbus is basically a state funded company, competing with Boeing. I guess it’s ok when the EU subsidizes entire industries. And this also brings to mind “too big to fail”.
And i seem to recall something about GM, Tesla, Solyndra, etc.
It’s very thin ice to be upset about state ownership of an industry.

14
posted on 04/05/2013 10:20:01 PM PDT
by DesertRhino
(I was standing with a rifle, waiting for soviet paratroopers, but communists just ran for office.)

No, the allodial title does not extend that far; that is a right-of-conquest concept anyhow. Unless by extension one is going to also claim that all lands in the USA are ultimately owned by the federal government (which the concept of “public lands” does entail).

Well, we can, but we'll have to dispose of all the Commies in Congress first to get the tax rates lowered.

Congress is small matter. It's far more difficult to deal with 49% of US families and 47.8 million individuals who depend on social security disbursements to live. Their food is paid for by your taxes.

Some of those recipients are genuinely unable to work due to illness and should be cared for by the society. But the majority is formed by people whose entire occupations are wiped out; by those who are older and cannot find a job; and by those who are career welfare recipients.

In essence, we are all passengers, locked in a vehicle that speeds down a mountain road without brakes or steering. The government gave up on trying to fix things, even if we believe that at some point they wanted to. It was an exciting ride since the US dollar was detached from gold and was printed left and right. But we are running out of the road ahead.

To paraphrase Lev Bronstein, you may not be interested in Putin - but Putin is interested in you.

I think that, as the EU collapses, two possibilities emerge - one, the failed EU states come together under German suzerainty, or two, the Germans and the Russians come together in some sort of condominium.

They are not like us. They have had their guns confiscated, their land collectivized and their people starved to death by the millions, their churches closed, their children indoctrinated, and their wealth and income stolen. They have no desire to go back to revisit that.

We are not like them because our government wishes us to experience the above.

The average Russians I know remind me of what this country was like before we became a worker's paradise.

I am even glad, to some extent, because the events have shown how risky and insecure investments in Western financial institutions can be. By the way... The income tax rate for natural persons in Russia is only 13 percent.

Luckily for taxpayers, only the government is allowed to own industry under The Not-So-Great Helmsman.

27
posted on 04/06/2013 9:21:04 AM PDT
by SunkenCiv
(Romney would have been worse, if you're a dumb ass.)

Far from it. Read what Putin has said about taxes. Russia, even under Putin, is becoming more open and free. But yet Putin is still willing to stand firm against Islam. He has repeatedly refused all encouragement to raise taxes.

You can have all the democfracy you want but in the end your only as free as your tax burden. By that measure I am about 50% free. I spend half of my life in forced service to my countrymen.

Russia becoming more open and free? With the clamps down on free speech that are already on the record? With the police being a bit too free with the truncheon? With Putin (and his KGB background) getting his third term as president? With the government buying controlling shares in what are supposed to be private companies? Should we get into the assassinations too . . . ?

Obama’s open deference to Medvedev and Putin should have told one all one needs to know about Russia, never mind all the rest.

>>>Russia becoming more open and free? With the clamps down on free speech that are already on the record? With the police being a bit too free with the truncheon? With Putin (and his KGB background) getting his third term as president? With the government buying controlling shares in what are supposed to be private companies? Should we get into the assassinations too . . . ?<<<

In fact KGB and Police are pretty much more restrained in Russia under Putin comparing to Yeltsin’s regime.

There is a rule of law of some kind for investors who aren’t about to exploit corruption for their interest.

Ask Ford, IKEA etc. They have exposed any nasty approach from Russian politicians and unions and nobody dare to touch them ever since.

Oh please. This sounds exactly like the same kind of propaganda used to get people to invest in Red China. And for the record, Red China is the one country in the world that Russia is getting closer and closer to. Putin is going further away from the West (I don’t mean the EU); and I will never be convinced of any of the pro-Putin propaganda on here until he becomes openly friendly to Israel and the USA (which he is neither) and stops investing in Iran particularly.

The last comparison in the Western media to a past Russian leader that was used for Putin was to Tsar Nicholas I. Seems to fit, what with the efforts to build his “Eurasian Union” (the name derived from “European Union”, of course) out of the former Soviet Union (which the EU itself is patterned on). This is a man who does not think of World War II as the twentieth century’s greatest geopolitical catastrophe; instead, in his view, that was the fall of the USSR.

>>>until he becomes openly friendly to Israel and the USA (which he is neither) and stops investing in Iran particularly.<<<

C’mon. If not for the Russian ‘help’ Iran could have a bomb years ago.

Russia is de-facto pretty friendly to Israel, thus it can’t expressed officially because it may hurt Russian business with Arabs.

About a quarter of Israel’s population is of Russian descent, even more for IDF. These people have relatives in Russia, including those influential in business and politics. Flights to Israel and back are also the most crowded regular flights in any Russian international airport. Both nations allows either side’s nationals visa-free.

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